Postal Service Can No Longer Afford Money-Saving Tactics, Study Says

Two of the U.S. Postal Service’s most successful methods for cutting costs—early-retirement incentives and automation—are no longer viable strategies because of USPS’s cash crunch, according to a report released today. “Overall, offering more early retirements for eligible employees would create additional cost savings,” says the report from the USPS Office of Inspector General on USPS’s cost structure. It noted a Postal Service statement indicating that savings from buyouts of more than 20,000 clerks and mail handlers two years ago have already doubled the $15,000-per-retiree payouts.

“The problem, however, is how to incentivize further buyouts that the Postal Service cannot afford to